Working hard to prove that Black girls belong at bat, softball captain Shenice Lockwood must prove herself on and off the field when a family secret is revealed, breaking her focus on the game as the championship fast approaches. Simultaneous eBook. Illustrations. - (Baker & Taylor)

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Nic Stone comes a challenging and heartwarming coming-of-age story about a softball player looking to prove herself on and off the field.

Shenice Lockwood, captain of the Fulton Firebirds, is hyper-focused when she steps up to the plate. Nothing can stop her from leading her team to the U12 fast-pitch softball regional championship. But life has thrown some curveballs her way.
 
Strike one: As the sole team of all-brown faces, Shenice and the Firebirds have to work twice as hard to prove that Black girls belong at bat.
 
Strike two: Shenice’s focus gets shaken when her great-uncle Jack reveals that a career-ending—and family-name-ruining—crime may have been a setup.
 
Strike three: Broken focus means mistakes on the field. And Shenice’s teammates are beginning to wonder if she’s captain-qualified.
 
It's up to Shenice to discover the truth about her family’s past—and fast—before secrets take the Firebirds out of the game forever. - (Random House, Inc.)

NIC STONE is the New York Times bestselling author of Clean Getaway, which received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Booklist, who called it “an absolute firecracker of a book.” She is also the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling and William C. Morris Award finalist Dear Martin, its New York Times bestselling sequel Dear Justyce, and the acclaimed novels Odd One Out and Jackpot for teens.
Nic spent several years on the softball field as a kid, and Fast Pitch grew out of her love of the sport and the movie The Sandlot, and her desire to see more Black female athletes represented on the field and on the page. Nic lives in Atlanta with her adorable little family. You can find her online at nicstone.info.
- (Random House, Inc.)

Booklist Reviews

Shenice Lockwood, captain of the Fulton Firebirds, is a legend when it comes to her love of the ball field—playing goes all the way back to her great-grandfather, who was nearly in the pros. She and her team are the only all-Black girls team in their softball league, and they're charging their way toward the championships. But can Shenice stay focused on their games instead of a newly discovered family mystery? Her great-uncle Jack recently spilled the beans that the crime that cost Great Grampy his career was a setup! Tensions are high as the plot bounces between gameplay and sleuthing, ultimately reaching a satisfying conclusion. Stone compellingly weaves a love of sports and family with mystery, using lifelike dialogue and realistic relationships, while interspersing historical facts that flesh out the narrative arc between the past and present. Readers of all ages will cheer for Shenice and appreciate Stone's note, which shares her history on the field and how her characters got their names. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Best-selling, award-winning Stone has legions of fans eager for anything with her name on the cover. Grades 3-6. Copyright 2021 Booklist Reviews.

Horn Book Guide Reviews

Softball is in Shenice Lightning Lockwood's blood. The twelve-year-old catcher plays for the Fulton Firebirds, the first all-Black team in the league and the only team in the entire eight-state Dixie Youth Softball Association with more than three Black players on the roster. It's a weight no one your age should have to carry, but can't ignore, Shenice's father tells her. She feels that every win is historic since she is trying to take her team to the championships and live out the dream of past generations of her family. This legacy goes all the way back to Great-Grampy JonJon, the family's baseball patriarch who was almost one of the first Black players recruited to the MLB. But something happened. The mystery of why Great-Grampy JonJon didn't make it to the majors becomes a parallel narrative to that of Shenice's softball games. The story effectively incorporates sports action with Shenice's sleuthing into her family's past. Stone's (Clean Getaway, rev. 5/20) straightforward, dialogue-driven prose is powerful, contributing multiple additional voices to Shenice's first-person perspective as she comes to understand how racism has affected her own family through the generations. This contemporary sports story goes beyond mere genre appeal; it is a novel of substance, carrying the weight of history. Copyright 2023 Horn Book Guide Reviews.

Horn Book Magazine Reviews

Softball is in Shenice "Lightning" Lockwood's blood. The twelve-year-old catcher plays for the Fulton Firebirds, the first all-Black team in the league and the only team in the entire eight-state Dixie Youth Softball Association with more than three Black players on the roster. "It's a weight no one your age should have to carry, but can't ignore," Shenice's father tells her. She feels that every win is historic since she is trying to take her team to the championships and "live out the dream" of past generations of her family. This legacy goes all the way back to Great-Grampy JonJon, the family's "baseball patriarch" who was "almost one of the first Black players recruited to the MLB. But something happened." The mystery of why Great-Grampy JonJon didn't make it to the majors becomes a parallel narrative to that of Shenice's softball games. The story effectively incorporates sports action with Shenice's sleuthing into her family's past. Stone's (Clean Getaway, rev. 5/20) straightforward, dialogue-driven prose is powerful, contributing multiple additional voices to Shenice's first-person perspective as she comes to understand how racism has affected her own family through the generations. This contemporary sports story goes beyond mere genre appeal; it is a novel of substance, carrying the weight of history. Dean Schneider September/October 2021 p.107 Copyright 2021 Horn Book Magazine Reviews.

Kirkus Reviews

A girl with a family baseball legacy that's a weight on her shoulders attempts to clear the name of her great-grandfather and win a historic title for her team. Twelve-year-old Shenice "Lightning" Lockwood has baseball in her veins and plans to lead her all-Black fast-pitch softball team (a first in the Dixie Youth Softball Association), the Fulton Firebirds, to victory at the district championship. After a devastating loss, her father shows her memorabilia from her family's baseball lineage, which spurs a trip to visit her great-uncle Jack. He tells her the story of her great-grandfather's rise from the Negro Leagues to the majors and how racial prejudice played a part in his being framed for the theft of a famous baseball glove. Shenice is compelled to seek answers, but the more she focuses on the past, the more she puts her future at risk. Following Clean Getaway (2020), Stone returns with another middle-grade novel that discusses race at a level her readers will understand but without condescension. Shenice's story is dripping with images of positive Black representation without shying away from the historical realities of her family playing baseball in the American South and how it affects her present as she attempts to make history herself. Notably, her coach is a White woman in a same-gender marriage. This energetic, engaging, complex novel will appeal to readers whether or not they are fans of baseball. A grand slam of an adventure. (Fiction. 8-12) Copyright Kirkus 2021 Kirkus/BPI Communications. All rights reserved.

Publishers Weekly Reviews

Black girl magic hits a home run in Stone's (Clean Getaway) latest novel. Twelve-year-old Shenice "Lightning" Lockwood has been playing "base-related ball" her whole life—just like her father, grandfather, and great-grandfather before her. Now captain of the Fulton Firebirds, the first all-Black team in Georgia's Dixie Youth Softball Association, her goal is to lead her team to the championship and send a message that "girls like us do belong on the field." When that goal sees a setback, Shenice's father gives her Great-Grampy JonJon's mitt "as a reminder of what's in you." But the item that truly captures her attention in JonJon's off-limits trunk is his leather journal—and his story. When Shenice meets her great-uncle Jack, JonJon's brother, in an assisted living facility, she learns that her great-grandfather was almost one of the first Black MLB players—until he was kicked out of the league for a theft that Jack insists JonJon was framed for. Considering her family legacy, Shenice struggles to maintain her focus as captain while following Jack's clues to clear JonJon's name. Fast-paced and heartwarming, this story captures the essence of familial duty through a warm family dynamic and a child protagonist with genuine agency. Ages 8–12. (Aug.)

School Library Journal Reviews

Gr 5–8—A sports mystery that will keep readers engaged from start to finish. "Base-related ball" runs in Shenice's blood. Her dad played, and his dad played, and now Shenice is the captain of the Fulton Firebirds, the first and only all-Black softball team in the Dixie Youth Softball Association. More than anything, she wants to prove that Black girls do belong on the field. The day after a tough loss, Shenice's father decides it's time to introduce her to her Great-Grampy JonJon's infamous trunk. The trunk holds all kinds of baseball treasures, but her father gives her JonJon's mitt and closes the trunk. Shenice is curious about other items she saw but doesn't know how to learn more about them until she discovers her Great-Grampy's brother, Uncle Jack, is still alive. When they meet, Uncle Jack tells Shenice the reason JonJon stopped playing ball: he was framed for stealing the glove of Joe DiMaggio from a charity auction. Her parents told her Uncle Jack isn't always lucid. Is the story true? Can Shenice clear JonJon's name? Discussions about race and civil rights are seamlessly woven into the narrative through Shenice's own experiences, her schoolwork, and conversations with her language arts teacher. The climax feels unnecessarily prolonged, but this may keep younger readers on the edge of their seats. Softball terminology isn't always explained, so it would benefit readers to have some background knowledge of the sport. VERDICT Purchase this title where Stone's work, sports stories, and light mysteries are popular.—Lisa Buffi, Sterling M.S., VA